Helping Hand
by Strawberry Vibe
Summary: Matsuda's cousin joins the task force and offers to help everybody serve justice. It's not long before she falls for L. Will she ever be able to tell him how she feels? Spoilers up to episode 25.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own Death note.

A/N: Hey guys. This was just an idea that I had. I'm afraid I'm not very good with words and I'm not sure if this is going well or not. I'm not sure how many chapters this is going to have either. D: Possibly five.

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Decisions, Stupidity and Graves

Matsuda looked hurriedly around the room and studied each of his co-workers carefully. L and Raito were sat in front of the many PC monitors and discussing the '13 day rule'. Mogi was looking through some files of some sort and Aizawa and Chief Yagami were sat on office chairs. From his seat at the other side of the room, Matsuda couldn't tell what they were doing.

He nervously looked down at the desk and looked at the lined paper in front of him. He grasped a pen tightly in his hand and scrawled a title.

'What I want on my gravestone.' He had a feeling he was going to die this evening.

'Matsuda. "Here's your coffee sir."'

'Matsuda. "Hey, can I talk to you for a minute?"'

'Matsuda. "Determined yet underestimated.'

Each sentence had lines striking it out. No. No. No. He screwed the paper up into a ball and shoved it into the pocket of his suit. He best not put this in the bin here in case Watari or somebody found it and realized that he hadn't been working.

He glanced at his watch and nibbled at his bottom lip. It was getting towards the evening now. He best get it over with now.

"Ryuuzaki..? Can I talk to you please?" L and Raito both turned around and looked at Matsuda with questioning eyes as he unsteadily stood up and strode over to them.

"Yes, Matsuda?" L asked politely, barely taking his eyes off the forkful of cake he held in his hand. Raito folded his arms and leant back in his chair slightly, his legs crossed. Matsuda shuffled back slightly. The way Raito sat made him seem intimidating and confident.

"Um, well you know how we have very few people on the team who would be willing to spare their lives and how it would really help if we could pick up some more people and all that?" Matsuda said slowly while looking down at his hands. He twisted his fingers together and twiddled his thumbs.

L looked away from his cake and looked at him with a small frown. Raito had one eyebrow perched eye above his eye.  
"Yes..?" L said again. Inside he groaned. What had Matsuda done now?  
"Well y'see I have this cousin and she's from England and we were just talking and she kind of sort of worked out that I'm working on the Kira case because I may have accidentally let it slip that I don't work with the police any more because I'm working on an important case and I'd been working on it for a while and it was with-" Matsuda babbled endlessly, his eyes darting to both L and Raito, terrified that they were going to throttle him. Behind him, Aizawa, Mogi and Chief Yagami listened.

"Your cousin knows about the case?" Raito interrupted him sharply. "Matsuda you idiot!" he cried and anger clouded his face.

L sighed and turned back to his cake. He chewed thoughtfully and rested his free hand on his chin. Of course he was sat in his unique way with his bare toes on the fabric of the chair and his legs were pressed against his chest.  
"Judging by you bringing up the fact that we're a little… short on staff, you're suggesting that your cousin joins the task force?" L asked. Matsuda nodded and flinched at the look that Raito threw him.

"Oh great! Then there will be two of them!" he muttered darkly. Matsuda grinned sheepishly. "Matsuda, you idiot!" he said again, he stood up and looked down at the cowering bachelor before him. "Do you realize what you've done?!" Raito said in a raised tone. The other members of the team stood behind Matsuda with scowls on their faces.

Matsuda saw the danger and quickly turned behind him and grabbed something out of his suitcase that was beneath the desk. There was a distinct sound of plastic clunking against cardboard as he waved a box in Raito's face. Time for plan B.  
"OK WHO WANTS TO PLAY TWISTER?"  
"TWISTER? I'LL PLAY TWISTER WITH YOU ALL RIGHT!" Raito roared and had to be held back by Mogi and Aizawa before he could inflict serious damage on Matsuda's face. He could see what was on his grave now. 'Matsuda, Left foot, red.'

"Calm down, Raito." L said turning to him. "You're acting extremely out of character. Now, Matsuda, you say that your cousin worked this out herself. That means that she could have investigation skills that could be of use to us. Does she know what she would be putting on the line if she joined us?"  
"Yes, Ryuuzaki. She said that she was willing to risk her life and fly over to Japan to help us."  
"Well, we are a little short on staff. I guess we could have her here as a sort of trial."

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A/N: D: Did that go well? I'd appreciate some feedback. Good or bad.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I still don't own Death Note.

A/N: I'm so tired right now so this probably doesn't make sense. xD I'm terrible at using other peoples characters so everybody is probably a little OOC. 3 I love Matsuda though.

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Awkward Journey

Aizawa and Matsuda waited outside of the airport. It was twenty past four on a Wednesday afternoon and they were picking up Matsuda's cousin. Aizawa groaned as he looked at his watch and shifted his weight from one foot to the other.

"Are you sure she hasn't gone already?" he asked. After all this was a relative of Matsuda and she could very well have gotten on the wrong plane and ended up the other side of the world or something. Matsuda nodded.

He was being very quiet which was unusual. Normally he would be trying to persuade Aizawa that his family wasn't careless and that everything would be fine. He leaned against a nearby wall and didn't make eye contact. Curse L for sending him with Aizawa to pick up his cousin! He wished that he could have gone with Mogi instead. Then at least, he would return to the headquarters alive. He had failed to mention that his cousin could not speak Japanese.

He was trying to think of things to say in his defense when somebody stepped in front of him. It had been a while since he had seen his cousin in person because most of the time they communicated over the phone. As he looked at the twenty-four year old woman in front of him, he had to admit; she had changed quite a bit from when he had last seen her.

She was dressed in a smart skirt and jacket, perhaps to make a good first impression. However it clashed with the apologetic grin on her face and her warm, brown eyes. Her hair was a waterfall of hazel that cascaded over her shoulders and down to her waist. It wasn't perfectly straight yet it wasn't wavy. She was wearing very little make up and her cheeks flooded with pink as she chattered away in English.

"Matsuda! It's been so long!" she cried and he quickly translated what she said into Japanese in his head. She had a clear English accent. He knew a little bit of English but he wasn't exactly fluent.

"Emily, you're looking poisonous this month. It's been a microwave since you and I last bathed. Here allow me to eat your suitcase. This is my dog, Aizawa by the way." He said to her in English, picking up her suitcase. She took one look at him and laughed.

"I see that you've been working on your English. It's nice to meet you." She gestured to Aizawa who was staring at her in surprise.

"She doesn't speak Japanese?" he hissed, though there was no need to talk quietly seeing as she couldn't understand. It would probably be less suspicious if he had spoken loudly. Matsuda winced and cowered behind the suitcase. He was going to die for sure this time. Aizawa rolled his eyes.

"What did she say?" he asked, unhappy that he couldn't understand what was being said."  
"Something about her pipe cleaners being overgrown I think." Matsuda said thoughtfully as he led Emily towards the car park. "Poor Emily. She's always had a few screws loose."  
"And we're letting her join the investigation?!"

The car journey back to the head quarters was agonizing. Aizawa was driving and every now and then he would turn and glare at Matsuda who still clung to the suitcase that sat in his lap. In the back seat, Emily was oblivious to the tension and was babbling away in her high pitched voice about something that the two men didn't understand. What an earth would Raito and L say? Matsuda quickly shoved his hand into his pocket. It was the same jacket as the one he had been wearing two weeks ago. He felt paper against his hand and pulled out a lump of paper and ink. Of course! He had washed his suit since then. He would have to write what he wanted on his grave on something before they got back to the rest of the team. He quickly turned around and Emily looked at him and smiled. She seemed to be excited about her whereabouts.  
"Hey, when I die can I have 'Matsuda, suitcases don't go there' written on my grave please?" he asked, his English was perfect for once. Emily collapsed into fits of giggles. She shook it off and assumed that he had just messed up his English again.

She barely said anything as they went through the many security checks it took to get into the building. Aizawa attempted to start a conversation to stop himself yelling at Matsuda but then realized that it would be fruitless considering she wouldn't understand what he was saying. She very nearly tripped up over her own feet and almost ended up on the floor but Matsuda caught her in time. Aizawa sighed. There really were two of them now.

As they walked closer and closer to the main room, Matsuda hummed a funeral march to himself in his head. He knew that Raito could speak English but he wasn't sure about the other members. He wished that he had told them all two weeks ago when he was going to die anyway. At least if they had killed him then, his list of grave stones would still be clear and easy to read.

Everybody turned around when they entered the room and he cleared his throat to talk. It took all of his strength not to whimper, scream like a girl and make a run for it.  
"This is my cousin, Emily. I'm afraid I forgot to tell you all that she can't speak Japanese." He said as clearly as possible. Raito opened his mouth and Matsuda could have said the words with him.

"Matsuda, you idiot!" he muttered sharply, standing up and striding over to Emily. He smiled at her warmly.

L, stared from the other side of the room with slight interest and awkwardly placed his feet on the floor and stood up.

"I lived in England for five years. I can speak English." He spoke calmly, saving Matsuda from certain death.

"Hello Emily, before we can allow you to join the task force, I'm going to have to ask you a few questions. Forgive us but it would be careless if we didn't check to see if you were trustworthy." His mouth twisted into one of his pleasant, crooked smiles.

"Of course." She said, smiling back.

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A/N: Thank you to ActionFry and The Blonde One for reviewing. It's nice to have feedback so I know what you guys want.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: X_x I have writers block so I apologise for the poorly written short chapter. Thanks to Hallows07 for reviewing and double thanks to ActionFry for reviewing again. ^-^

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An Alias and an Interview

Matsuda nervously watched L and Emily leave the room for a private interview and glanced at Raito and Aizawa. His chances of survival were slim. Mogi and Chief Yagami turned back to their work. Fantastic.

He kept his eyes on the floor and walked to the other side of the room, near the large desk that stretched across the room in front of the monitors. He felt safer when he was near other people.

_Oh gravy granules!_

They were following him.

He turned around and grinned at them sheepishly. Aizawa raised his eyebrows and Matsuda reached behind him desperately for something to save him. Preferably a big stick or a chair or a giant candy cane or something. His fingers came into contact with a laminated piece of paper and he shook it in front of their faces with a _swish_.

It turned out to be the scans of the letters that Kira had confused L with.  
"Look! Look! I think there are new messages hidden in these! Here it says 'Did you know that unicorns excrete haribo?' Wow! Did you know that?"

The two men in front of him exchanged a glance then rolled their eyes. They turned away after silently agreeing that it wasn't worth it. Huzzah! He had survived!

---

Emily nervously sat on the edge of her chair, her legs dangling towards the floor. Opposite her sat L in his unusual manner. The room was small and comfortable yet Emily was still anxious about how the 'interview' had gone. L stared at her in silence, chewing thoughtfully on his thumb.

"There's just one more question that I would like to ask you." He spoke suddenly and calmly, breaking the silence and making her jump. She was not used to talking to people she didn't know very well and she wished that Matsuda was with her.

L blinked and removed his thumb from his mouth before fixing his eyes on her. This question was about trust and whether Emily was honest or not.

"Have you ever looked at a criminal and thought that they don't deserve to live?" He asked clearly, studying her reaction.

She seemed a little taken aback and her cheeks flushed a delicate pink.

"Well… It- Only… It depends. I've only thought it when I hear about somebody who has hurt somebody really badly for no reason. You know like child abusers?" she stuttered. She seemed to be uncomfortable about the question yet truthful.

"That is everything. Judging by what you have said, how you have answered my questions and your body language, I can safely say that you are not Kira." Emily sighed with relief.

L looked at her and put his thumb back in his mouth. Letting her join the investigation could go either way. She could be a great help to the team or she could be nothing but a distraction. The thought of having two Matsuda's crossed his mind. It was a vision which all the other members of the investigation had seen previously and it was now L's turn to shudder and pray that Emily would be different. One Matsuda was enough.

He noticed that she was staring at him with a look of wonder. He broke away from his thoughts and looked back.

"Who are you?" she asked quietly.  
"I am L. However, please call me Ryuuzaki. It's a safety precaution." He said simply. She stared at him with wide eyes as he slowly stood up and walked to the door. He paused and turned to her.

"We should return to the rest of the group. Knowing them, they're probably trying to kill your cousin right now."

They walked, without speaking to one another, into the main room and were surprised to see that it was quiet and peaceful. Everybody looked up as they entered the room.

"Last night, Watari helped come up with an alias for Emily. While working with her, we shall call her, Echo." L said as soon as he was sure that everybody was listening."Echo?" Ide asked,  
"Yes Echo."  
"Echo?" Aizawa repeated.  
"Echo…" muttered Emily.  
"Echo." L said firmly.  
"Welcome to the team, Echo."

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A/N: :D I love whoever understood the 'Echo' joke. Thanks to all that reviewed before and those who may review in the future.


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Y'know when I said that this would be about five chapters long? Well I told great big porky pies. :P I underestimate myself sometimes. I've let this go a lot more slowly than I intended. Personally I think that that is good. Why rush? It's more natural this way. Anyway, this chapter is extra long to make up for the previous short chapter.

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Coffee and Reports

"No Ryuuzaki, I wasn't the one who used to disc drive of this PC to hold my cup of coffee!" Matsuda protested as everybody was leaving the headquarters. The working day was over and everybody was going home. Emily held some reports in her hands. Over the past couple of hours, she had been given a handful of reports and pictures and asked to catch up on what they had done so far. She was meant to stay behind while everybody went home so L could tell her any other extra information and answer her questions. She sighed and looked at the reports again. Somebody had translated a few of them into English. Others were in Japanese and were a mystery to her.  
"Well this isn't my cup…" L muttered while holding up an empty teacup with a faint coffee stain inside of it.

Emily stared at them in disbelief. For a few moments, she wished she understood what they were saying. However, she easily caught on to what they were arguing about when she saw the cup gently swaying between two of L's fingers. She didn't want to interfere but she was certain that the cup had been in the PC disc tray ever since she had entered the building. She hid a smile behind her hand as she wondered if it had been L who had left it there after all. She had quickly learned of his sweet tooth and about how he liked his coffee with extra sugar. It was hard not to miss it really.  
"Ryuuzaki, I would never leave a cup of coffee in a disc drive! It's too wobbly! I may spill the coffee!"

L stared at Matsuda for a few seconds and chewed on his nail. They were stood next to the PC, its disc drive open. Emily rolled her eyes. This was a ridiculous argument.  
"Fair enough. You may leave now." L mumbled. Perhaps he thought it was silly too. Matsuda snorted and waved to Emily before speaking in English.  
"See you tomorrow, Echo. I hope you brush vests."

L and Emily watched him leave in confusion.  
"Your cousin must have some odd habits and hobbies for in his free time." L spoke, his finger still in his mouth. Emily spluttered and quickly disguised her laughter as a sudden coughing fit. She hoped that she had managed to convince the world's greatest detective that she just had a tickly throat and that she wasn't laughing at the hypocrisy.

"Are you alright?" He asked, a slight look of concern on his face as she straightened up, her cheeks flushing red as she gasped for air.  
"Yes. Yes. I'm fine. I just choked on some… dust. That's all."  
"I see."

Emily cursed at herself inside her head. He obviously hadn't fallen for that.  
"So! The case!" she said quickly with a big smile that screamed fake.  
"_Well this is convincing, way to make a good impression to somebody you don't know very well, Emily!" _she thought as a sinking feeling drifted through her.

L looked at her suspiciously for a few seconds then his expression melted away to show his serious face. He shook off whatever he was thinking of and walked to the chairs near the desk. They sat down.

"I trust you've read through the reports and looked through the photographs?" he asked. She stared blankly at him for a few moments; transfixed by the way he sat. She wasn't going to get used to that for a while.  
"I read through the few of them that had been translated into English but of course, I couldn't read the others. I'm sorry. I'm sure I can pick the language up quickly…" she muttered, her voice getting quieter as she spoke. She felt small.

L nodded slowly. He knew that so far, it had been difficult coping with somebody who couldn't speak the same language as the rest of her co-workers so far and he knew that would be the case the moment he heard that she couldn't speak Japanese. So far, everything he had said today, or anything that anybody else had said, he had had to translate to her. Although not much was said and most of the time, she was reading the reports, it was still tedious. However, he was patient.

"Yes, I'm sorry about that. I could only translate a few of them given the small amount of time I had. I didn't know you only spoke English until I met you so I had to translate these while Matsuda introduced you to everybody and helped show you how everything worked. Though I doubt that anything he said was useful considering it didn't make any sense."

"I'm sorry." Emily muttered again, not looking at him but concentrating on the tabletop instead. In front of her lay the reports she had spent the day poring over.

"It must be difficult for you." L said gently. He shook his head to himself slightly. No. They were veering away from what they were supposed to be discussing.

Emily didn't answer which he was thankful for. He looked up past his chaotic hair to see her eyes still boring into the desk as if, if she looked anywhere else, she may explode.

"Yagami Raito, the youngest member of our team which I'm sure you've met today, is our main suspect as you've probably read in the reports." He said, directing the conversation back towards the case. She looked up at him after he had finished speaking. He waited a few seconds, just to make sure that she didn't explode after all.

No, she seemed to be stable. It was a silly thought really. Perhaps he was just using that as an excuse to himself and to hide the fact that he had no idea how to cope with her on the team. It was probably less embarrassing admitting to himself that things would be tricky and he was a complete idiot for letting her join the investigation than waiting for somebody to explode. Argh! What was up with him? It was not like L to think of silly things such as exploding people.

"Isn't it a bit risky having him on the team if he is the main suspect?" Emily's voice rescued him from being devoured by his own faults and he nearly sighed with relief.  
"Although there is a chance that he may be Kira, I have tested him many times and without a doubt, his investigation skills are amazing. For a short period of time, we kept him confined in a cell and monitored his actions. We didn't see anything suspicious during this time and as you will have read in the report, the killings started again about half way through his imprisonment."

Emily shivered at the thought of being locked up in a cell all day. Was Ryuuzaki, L, really that serious about his job that he would do that to a real person? Raito seemed so polite and he was the only other person on the team, apart from L who could speak English.

"However, at the moment, we've hit a bit of a dead end." L said, almost in defeat as he delicately held up a black notebook by the corners in his odd manner. "This notebook, is known as the Death Note."  
"Yes it was in the report." Emily whispered as she looked at the book. This was a dangerous weapon. The way that L casually held it made her cry out inside.

"Everything fits into place. Raito, is Kira, Misa Amane, his girlfriend is the second Kira. Yes?" Emily nodded, her eyes still fixed firmly on the book. Was she going to explode again? No! No! No! Don't start that again!

L's darkly rimmed eyes looked at her opaquely, then he spoke again.  
"It would all fit if it weren't for this one rule." He opened the book to show her the set of rules and she looked blankly at him for a few moments. He quickly realized his mistake and began reading them out. Then he turned to the back.  
"Once you've wrote a name down in this book, you must write a name every thirteen days otherwise you die. We kept Yagami and Amane in custody for a lot longer than thirteen days and we are certain that they didn't write a single name down in a Death Note. They are still alive therefore, that cannot be the case." L frowned and rubbed his feet together.

"Well it appears to be getting late. I mustn't keep you here too long. You are free to go to your apartment now. You will be living in this building. Matsuda, Watari and I also live here. Watari has taken the liberty of taking your bags up to your room. Here is the key." L said, reaching into his the pocket of his jeans and handing her a silver key.  
"I'll see you in the morning."

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A/N: I'm so so sorry that this wasn't that funny and it was a little boring. :'( Also thanks to ActionFry once again for letting me know what she thought of the previous chapter. 3 It's fantastic to hear what you think.


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Well I tried to make this one more interesting. :P I hope it's ok for you guys.

Disclaimer: I don't own Death Note. I didn't own it in chapter four either because I forgot to put a disclaimer there. Though I'm fairly sure that you already worked it out. I won't tell you guys what would be different if I did own Death Note though because that's kinda cliche and I like it how it is, although I wish some characters didn't die, I like the impact it had.

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In the Morning

Emily rolled over and took a deep breath. The sheets smelt unfamiliar and felt soft. Her eyes fluttered open and she slowly brushed the duvet off her body and sat up. That's right. This was her new home. She looked around the bedroom with its dark blue walls and smiled.

She attempted to get out of bed but before she knew it, she was tumbling towards the midnight blue carpet and lying on the floor; her legs entangled in the sheets. She spent a few minutes freeing her legs and made her bed. It was still warm, the ghost of her heat sticking to the fabric.

Her hair was a frenzy of knots and curls as she stumbled towards the bathroom and got into the hot shower. It was only seven in the morning but she had slept well and she wished to catch up with the rest of the team. She was certain that L was probably working right now.

She stepped out of the shower and quickly dried herself before using a hair dryer to dry her long hair. She hadn't brought much with her because Matsuda had promised her that everything would be provided for her. However, she had brought her hair dryer because having hair as long as hers meant that it took a while to dry.

After dressing herself in smart clothes she looked in the bathroom mirror which was fixed to the door. She frowned and looked at her waist long hair. After showering, washing and brushing, it was now ever so slightly wavy and it looked untidy. It didn't match her posh skirt and jacket. If only she had short hair. For a few moments she wondered whether she should have it cut short so it looked professional but in the end she decided against it. She loved her hair how it was. She decided to just put it up in two bunches to keep it out of her way. She hated to admit it but her hair often got trapped in things such as doors.

She walked into the dazzling white kitchen carefully, making sure that she didn't fall over in her smart high heels. She looked down at them. Maybe they weren't such a good idea. She was so clumsy that she was bound to trip over them several times today.

Her eyes wavered over to the fridge and she saw the note that she had read the previous evening on the counter. She smiled to herself as she remembered that it was welcoming her to the building and that there was food in the fridge but they were unsure of what she liked so they had bought a large variety of food. She was to write a list of what she needed ready for next week and her shopping would be delivered to her. L and Watari were so thoughtful.

The big silver clock on the wall told her that it was quarter to eight. She spent a few minutes considering whether she should go to the main room and see if anybody was there. She had been told that everybody was supposed to come in at nine o clock yet she was welcome to come in a little early. She thought about it. She wouldn't just be a little early.

After a few more seconds of thinking it over, Emily decided that it was worth trying and she made her way to the main room. She stood silently in the elevator and went through the security checks that would allow her to enter the room. She had been taken through these and her information had been programmed in yesterday. The doors of the lift parted to show the room.

It took Emily a few moments to work out the L was sat at the desk, presumably working. She shyly walked towards him.  
"I'm sorry that I've come in so early, Ryuuzaki." She said quietly, stopping a metre away from his chair. There was no reply. She carefully walked to his side and looked at him and realized why.

He was sat on the chair, his hand stretching out to the desk and his other hand resting on his knee. Beneath his hand was a pen and a large handful of paper full of his tidy handwriting. However one of the words trailed off into a line of ink. L's eyes were closed and he was breathing heavily. He was asleep.

Emily stared at him for a few moments and then looked down at the work he had been doing. It was all in English. It seemed that he had stayed up the entire night just to translate the reports into English for her. Inside she felt the fluttering of butterflies.

"_No. It wasn't just for you. It was for the whole team."_ She thought.

Maybe she should wake him? Or maybe she should let him sleep? She was unsure of what to do. If only she had stayed in her apartment. She knew just by looking at the black rings that framed his dark eyes that he mustn't get that much sleep due to the crazy amounts of coffee and sugar he consumed. All that caffeine… The only reason he wasn't on a constant sugar high was because he was exhausted.

Perhaps he always slept here like this? No. She was fairly sure that he had mentioned that he had his own room. She wished that Watari was there. He knew L well and would have known what to do.

Emily quietly sat down in the chair next to L and crossed her legs. He seemed to be a light sleeper and he stirred slightly, murmuring something she couldn't make out. She looked at her watch. Eight o clock. She wasn't going to bother him yet. Maybe she would when it was getting closer to the time when the rest of the team would arrive but not until then.

She watched him sleeping. His dark hair sprouted in all directions and seemed to be uncontrollable but she liked that. It was unique. In fact everything about L was unique. It was special. Unfortunately she seemed to be the only person to think that. Maybe she saw him in a different way to everybody else.

He looked so peaceful as his shoulders rose and fell in time with his steady breathing and his head dipped so he was facing his knees. His mouth was ever so slightly open and occasionally, he would stir and mutter something.

She watched him in silence until half past and then a certain thought struck her. What if he woke up and saw her?

_"What are you doing?"  
"I'm watching you while you sleep. It's not perverted or creepy or anything and I haven't been here for a while now or anything."_

Emily froze at the thought and stood up. It may be a good idea to wake him up as if she'd only just arrived after all. She gently placed her hand on his shoulder and a hurricane of feelings swept through her as she felt him move and watched him groggily open his eyes and stare for a few moments at the pen in his hands.

"I'm sorry I'm here so early but I felt that I may be able to help a little. Then I saw you were asleep and I assumed that you didn't mean to be." She said clearly, trying to keep her voice steady and wishing that her hair wasn't tied up in bunches so she could hide behind it.

L turned to her and blinked.  
"It's very unusual for me to fall asleep while working. It won't happen again." He said sadly, his finger in his mouth. It felt almost as if _she _was the boss. He stiffly stepped off of the chair and picked up the translated reports.

He had started translating them as soon as Emily had left and he wondered how long he had been asleep for.

"_Why did I continue working even when I was tired enough to fall asleep while doing my job?"_ he thought sadly. It could possibly be that the case mattered to him so much that he had continued doing what he could to help get it back on track. Or maybe something else mattered to him..?

Emily was watching him, slight concern visible on her face.  
"Here. You should read through these today. However, it would also be a good idea to introduce you to this Death Note's shinigami."  
"Shinigami?" Emily asked with a hint of worry in her tone.  
"Yes. Apparently, every Death Note has a 'God of Death' or as we call them, shinigami."

L was holding the Death Note again. Emily shyly edged towards his side, being careful not to trip over her own feet. He was turning to a particular page. He pointed to the corner which had been torn off.

"We're not sure whether it is possible or not to use just a fragment of the Death Note." He explained. He then held the book out to her. "Touch it." He commanded.

Emily cautiously reached out a trembling hand, terrified that the book would snap at her fingers and try and devour her hand as she pressed her fingers against the rustling paper. A gasp of horror left her open mouth as she looked at the creature stood behind L.

"Call me, Rem." The shinigami said, looking down at her. L turned to Emily and spoke once more.  
"Well there you go. This is Rem. Now... Don't you think you better be reading through the last of the reports?"

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A/N: I hope that was ok. I'd love it if you let me know with feedback. Thanks to The Blonde One and ActionFry for reviewing again. xD I know your pen names without having to look at them.


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: Here we go. Thanks to those who have reviewed. It's brilliant to see feedback. :D Love you all.

Disclaimer: If I did own Death Note, I wouldn't be writing a fanfiction. :P

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Tests

Matsuda and Emily collapsed into giggles at the other side of the room. It was lunch break and L and Raito were sat at the other side of the room watching them with slight interest. L chewed on a mouthful of cake and kept his eyes on Emily and Matsuda.

"You know, if I hadn't have been told, I would still have worked out that they were related." He said thoughtfully, watching Emily giggle and then accidentally fall back off her chair. Nobody but Matsuda really paid attention to it. She'd been falling over all morning. He helped her stand up.

Raito glanced at L and laughed.  
"Ryuuzaki, you're the greatest detective in the world. I doubt it would be hard for you to work it out." L scooped up another forkful of cake stared down at his plate. They were sat at the desk.

"No I don't think that's it. If there was a… Matsuda clone who didn't know that they were related, even he would be able to tell me that they were."  
"Isn't cloning illegal?" Raito asked with a smirk.  
"Thank god it is. Otherwise we'd have _three _Matsuda's to cope with." L said in amusement.

"_Oh crumbs. They're watching me." _Emily thought as she was helped back into her chair by Matsuda. She sat up on her chair and tried to look as intelligent and sophisticated as possible. She shuddered at the thought of them thinking she was an idiot who didn't know what she was doing.

L finished his cake, still looking at Emily. His mind was miles away. She was determined and a hard worker. Although she was clumsy and reminded him of Matsuda, she was useful. He remembered a conversation he had had earlier that day.

"_Hey Ryuuzaki..?"  
"What is it Matsuda? You haven't told somebody else about the investigation have you?" L said glumly.  
_"_No Ryuuzaki! It was a mistake before! No! What I wanted to tell you was that, my cousin could be very useful to you."  
"Oh?"  
"Yes. She has the ability to tell if somebody is lying or not."_

This interested him. He should test this 'ability' and see if it was false or not. Then, he could use this as an advantage against Kira. Yes… Emily wasn't like Matsuda at all if you thought about it carefully.  
"Eek!" Emily tumbled off her chair again.  
"I take that back." L muttered as he clattered his fork against his plate.  
"Pardon Ryuuzaki?" Raito asked.

---

"I'm sorry to ask you to stay behind two nights in a row." L said as Emily stood on her own. Once again, they were the only people here. "Matsuda told me that you were able to tell if somebody was lying. Is that true?" he asked her clearly.

She looked at him anxiously. What did he want? She nodded, her hair brushing against the back of her jacket.  
"Would you mind if I tested you?" he asked, holding up a video tape. She blinked at him and shook her head. L had asked Watari to find an old police training video and he had been lucky to find one for lying. It was filled with people making statements. Some of them were true, some were lies. Emily would have to get one hundred percent of them correct to prove that her skill wasn't unreliable.

They sat down at the desk and L slotted the video into a video player. The big monitors all flashed up with the video. He handed her a piece of lined paper.  
"Please write down whether you think they're lying or not." He asked, though it was more of a command.

For the next twenty minutes, Emily worked through the video, filling out the sheet as it played. All the time, she felt L's eyes boring into her as she watched. It was off putting and several times she turned to him only to meet his harsh stare. His blank expression creeped her out slightly yet she still felt the unsteady butterflies inside. Every time she would blush and turn back to the work.

When the video finally reached the end she sighed with relief. The pen thudded to the desk and she nursed her sore hands. L carefully slid the sheet from under her fingers and held it up with two hands. His eyes scanned through her answers and she watched him; using this opportunity to take in his features for what must have been the hundredth time that day.

"Amazing." He muttered, placing the paper on the desk.  
"Did I do well?" she asked nervously. He nodded at her and inside she felt a squeeze of delight. He was pleased with her.

"One hundred percent correct." He said, to himself more than to her.

For what must have been at least two minutes, neither of them said anything. L was looking at the desk carefully, obviously thinking. Emily was staring at his hair and wondering if it was as soft as it looked.

"_No Emily! Why do you keep thinking things like that?" _she thought sadly. _"I wonder what he's thinking…"_

"_Hmmmm… I wonder if Kira can make his victims explode using a Death Note…"_

"It's Thursday. Are you going to be doing anything over the weekend?" Emily asked quickly, just to break the silence between the two of them. L's head snapped up and he looked up at her.  
"Working." He said simply. She tutted in sympathy and shook her head. Did he do anything but work?  
"Do you ever take a break?" she asked, mostly in concern. He shook his head and frowned.  
"There would be nothing for me to do if I wasn't working." He answered. Emily thought for a few moments.  
"Matsuda and I are going ice skating at the weekend. Would you like to come?" she asked, brave for once. Usually she was too shy to ask these things but with L, it felt like she had known him for a while. He looked up at her in surprise.

Should he accept? He could ice skate but overall, it would be better to stay behind and work. But then he remembered all of the times that Emily had fallen over in the past two days and the idea of her on ice alarmed him. Why did he care so much? He didn't know.  
"I'll think about it." He said quietly.

* * *

A/N: There it is. Sorry for the poor quality and bless all those who have read this far. :D I promise that next chapter will be better.


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: xP If I owned Death Note, I would put lotsa cute bits in it that make you melt to contrast all the deaths. But I don't.

A/N: Aargh sorry it's short guys but I this was my favourite chapter to write so far. I _melted _while writing this.

* * *

Embrace

It was not unusual to hear bells. At least, it wasn't unusual for L. Perhaps it was abnormal for other people to hear them, but not for L. They constantly reminded him of his pain. Always ringing and never stopping. They were louder at night as he slept. He disliked the dreams. Hours and hours of just bells ringing. It was enough to drive somebody to the point where they wouldn't sleep.

This dream was different though. Usually, all he saw was darkness and an old church as the sound of the bell sounded and rang. It went right through him. It_ Echoed_.

However in this dream, he felt weird. It wasn't long before he worked it out. He looked down to see the suit he was wearing. A suit? What? A bowtie? Fancy shoes? Oh pringles! He was wearing socks! The material clung to his feet and made his feet uncomfortably warm.

He was suddenly conscious that he wasn't alone either. Everything was bright and the ringing of the bells continued. He turned to the right of him and was startled by what he saw. This was a wedding. _His _wedding with _her_. Emily was stood beside him, laughing with the bells, a white dress billowing.

"Gah!" L snapped his eyes open, being careful not to tumble out of his bed for he always slept while sat up in his crouched position. He winced as he thought of the dream. What _was_ that?

---

Emily sat on her bedroom floor holding two pairs of shoes. Her high heels or her flat shoes? Her high heels looked better but she was more likely to fall over in them. She remembered the previous day and groaned as she realized how silly she must have looked falling over every two minutes. She settled for the flat shoes.

She looked at her bedside table clock and bit her lip. Eight o clock. Maybe she should sleep in later. She was going to be early again. But… What if she got to see sleeping L again? She wondered why she hoped for that before she realized something.

Could she possibly have feelings for L? She'd only known him two days but she felt intrigued by him. She pulled on her shoes and made her way out of her room, locking the door on the way out.

She nearly ran to the elevator; looking forward to the possibility that L was asleep again. It was such a normal thing to do for an abnormal person. It was human. As the doors opened, she stumbled out of the lift and crashed to the ground in her enthusiasm.  
"Early again, Echo?" L asked, not turning around and keeping his eye on the files in front of him. She sat on the floor and looked in his direction in surprise.  
"How did you know it was me?" she asked, embarrassed that she had somehow managed to fall over in flat shoes.  
"Only you would throw yourself into the room at ten past eight, Echo." He said quietly. She snorted and unsteadily stood up.  
"I didn't _throw_ myself." She retorted. She was a little disappointed that L wasn't even going to face her.

L had no intention of facing her any time soon. He had not slept since the dream and had spent most of the night thinking things through. He couldn't understand it.  
"How long have you been awake for?" Emily asked and L was startled as he saw that she had walked up to him. He would have to look at her now. He couldn't just ignore her.

He regretted it as soon as his eyes met hers. Images of her in a wedding dress flooded his mind.  
_"No! No! No! I'm not going to get married! I won't wear socks!"  
_"I woke up at four o clock." L said truthfully. He wasn't going to lie about that.  
"You should sleep more." Emily said with concern. L looked at her and found to his horror that he was blushing. Luckily for him, she didn't seem to notice.

He quickly stood up, brushing the files aside. He felt less helpless when he was at the same level as her. Why did she do this to him?  
"Is my cousin useful?" she asked suddenly. L looked at her in surprise, relieved that he had a distraction. He hadn't been expecting a question like that.  
"He has his methods but I wish he would just follow his orders. At one point, we actually had to fake his death to save his life."

Before Emily knew what she was doing, she had her arms around L.  
"Thank you for keeping him safe." She whispered, resting her head on his shoulder. Part of her told her to let go but she refused to. She clung to his waist and sighed. His hair brushed against her cheek. She remembered yesterday when she had wondered if his hair was soft and smiled. It was.

"_I think of you as soon as I wake up, just before I fall asleep and all of the time in between_." She thought to herself.

L was stunned. He hadn't been hugged in so long. For a few seconds he just stood there awkwardly, his mind racing as he tried to work out what to do. Without even realizing what he was doing, he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close. He was ever so slightly overwhelmed as the events over the past few days began to make sense.  
_"I'd trade all the cake in the world away just to stay like this forever. Oh wow she smells like coffee!" _he thought.

Emily began to wonder who was more surprised as they stood there for several minutes. Was he more surprised than her because she had hugged him in the first place or was she more surprised that he was hugging her back? She smiled and tried to stop herself shaking. She could feel his heart beating in his chest and the warmth of his body. People never really realized that L was a living human being with feelings and emotions. Just because he never expressed some of these, people assumed that he couldn't. But she could feel his steady breathing as his chest rose and fell and his heart was beating. It was pounding. He was alive.

* * *

A/N: Yes I capitalised the 'E' in 'Echoed' at the end of the second paragraph on purpose. xD It's why I chose the name Echo actually. Just so I could use it there. I wanted this chapter to remind everybody that L was human because many people show him with no emotion. He has emotions, you just have to look for them. :) Thank you to Danicasdeath, The Blonde One and of course, ActionFry for reviewing. I love feedback.


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: It would be pretty cool if you thought I owned all the characters. However, I do not.

A/N: Gah writers block. xD ActionFry, your wish is my command. That's all I'm saying. Sorry if this chapter isn't too great.

* * *

Capoeria

Neither L nor Emily knew how long they would have just stood there, holding each other, if they had all the time in the world. Forever? Neither of them was aware that for a friendly hug, it was an awfully long one. They were both so absorbed in their own feelings, too blind to realize that they were both sharing something special.

Unfortunately, they did not have all of the time in the world and because of this, both were vaguely aware that somebody was bound to walk into the room at any time. Emily wasn't surprised when the elevator doors parted to show Matsuda and Aizawa. However she was surprised when L pushed her across the room so she tumbled towards the floor.  
"Walrus on a stick!" she cried. She didn't realize he was so strong.

Ten seconds of pain both physically and mentally. It hurt her physically to be thrown to the ground and it hurt her mentally because she felt rejected. If he had a problem with the hug then why did he hug her back? What was wrong with Matsuda and Aizawa seeing them?

For ten seconds, Matsuda and Aizawa stood gawping at the awkward scene. They were sure that they had just seen L hugging Emily one minute then pushing her four metres away the next. No. Not minutes. Seconds. It happened so quickly, they weren't even sure if it was all in their heads.

Ten seconds since they had seen. L had to work quickly to make sure that this didn't affect how they thought of him. As much as he liked Emily, he had only just realized his feelings and he didn't feel ready to tell anybody. He doubted that the team would treat him the same way after seeing this.  
"Have you come to see our Capoeria demonstration?" L asked. Matsuda and Aizawa stood in silence. Ten more seconds.  
"Capoeria?" Aizawa asked, looking confused.  
"It's a south American martial arts technique. Emily kindly asked me to demonstrate it to her."  
"Capoeria?" Matsuda repeated.  
"Yes. I'm sure that Light is familiar with my Capoeria fighting technique."

Emily unsteadily stood up, bruised and sore. She couldn't understand what L was saying but she didn't really care. However, Aizawa and Matsuda seemed to be buying it.  
_"I don't care."_ She thought, though she knew in her heart that she did. She felt so much, it half blinded her. She mustn't cry. No she mustn't. She must be strong.

As she turned away to find some work to do so that the whole incident could be forgotten before the rest of the investigation team arrived, she heard her alias, her other name, being said to her.  
"Echo, come with me. Don't forget that I promised to let you borrow some video tapes of Capoeria." L said. By the look in his eyes, she knew that he must have told the other members of the team some silly excuse so that he could get her on her own. It was a stern look. It tore through her like a blade. She nodded, dizzily and followed him.

She knew what was coming. He was going to ask her why she had hugged him. Did she even know that herself? She wished she was as intelligent as he was, just so she could work out how to trick him into believing some silly excuse. The same way that he had persuaded Matsuda and Aizawa that he was merely demonstrating martial arts. Suddenly, she felt sick. He was leading her up the stairs at the side of the room. She assumed that he was taking her to his room so he could give her the videos. She concentrated hard on not falling over because she could feel the eyes of Aizawa and her cousin burning into her back.

After climbing up the stairs, he led her towards a door which he unlocked swiftly and pushed open. Reluctantly, she stepped inside.

The room which she saw wasn't surprising. A standard leather sofa was in the corner up against a window and there was a coffee table littered with paper full of his neat handwriting. There was a small TV in the corner which didn't seem to be used often. There was a pile of what looked like security tapes next to this. Although she would never admit it, Emily had pictured what L's room had looked like quite a few times and she was delighted, despite the current circumstances, that she was more or less correct.

She stood uncomfortably and glanced at L nervously. He was looking at her. However his eyes were no longer harsh, they were emotionless but there appeared to be something else there as well. It was like he was trying to look at her normally but something softer lay behind that.  
"I'm sorry about that." He said rubbing the back of his neck, his eyes trained on her flat shoes. Could _he _explode if he stared at them too much. He glanced up at her, shaking away the thought. She looked at him in surprise. She hadn't expected that at all. "I didn't mean to push you that hard. Does it hurt?" he asked politely. She blushed and shook her head.

Before she even registered the movement, L had pulled her into a hug again. She gasped as she felt his warm arms around her. Little did she know, L was testing himself and his emotions. He was trying to understand everything. She longed to hold him as well but she was stood sideways with her head against his chest. She could hear his heart beating. It was a steady beat this time. Perhaps because she hadn't taken him by surprise.

Disappointment flooded through her as he let go of her after only fifteen seconds. She prayed that it didn't show on her face. She cursed herself for being surprised that it hadn't lasted longer. She knew that they were only friends. Only friends. Were they even friends? Perhaps he was just being nice because he felt sorry for her. He was being sympathetic. She shuddered in sadness and hoped that L wouldn't notice. The day had barely begun and she already wanted to just turn away, go back to her apartment, crawl into her bed and cry into her pillow until she fell into sweet dreams where L would hold her and whisper comforting things to her.

Silently, L handed her a handful of video tapes from a shelf that she hadn't noticed before. She looked at him blankly.  
"It would be suspicious if you didn't leave without the tapes. Actually it will probably be even more suspicious for the rest of the group if we both leave my room together." L said, chewing on his thumbnail. Emily laughed, her face flushing red and she turned to the door.  
"I see your point. We better return quickly before they arrive."

* * *

A/N: Short I know. So I'll make the next chapter longer to make up for it. :D Yes I know that L is very out of character but he's hard to work with. Thank you to ActionFry, Danicasdeath and and AnimelovinKiDD for reviewing. If anybody ever has any negative feedback, I'd love to know so I can improve my work. (: Also, ActionFry, sorry it wasn't as funny as you may have wished. X(


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: I no own.

A/N: Well I tried to throw the fruit loops at writers block like you said ActionFry but heh... I suck at throwing. Yes I did put it in because the reviews are my only feedback. You guys are telling me what you want and I'm giving it to you. :) I have no idea what the other readers want so I just go with what others say.

Danicasdeath, haha you're right that would be adorable. However, I'm planning on something slightly different. :P I'll keep what you said in mind for next chapter though.

* * *

Hypocrits on Ice

L stepped into the cool building and looked around him, searching for the rest of the group.  
"Ryuuzaki! You came!" a voice cried and he turned to see Emily, Matsuda, Raito and Misa.

Matsuda looked unusual wearing jeans and a t-shirt under a coat. L was so used to seeing him wearing a suit that he found it hard to see Matsuda wearing anything else. Emily stood, bright and bubbly beside him, her hair in two bunches again with a pink hat sat clumsily on her head. She was wearing jeans and a pale pink coat. She waved at L, her hands covered by baby blue mittens.

She reached into her pale blue bag when he approached and pulled out a pair of navy blue, thick socks.  
"I had a feeling that you wouldn't be wearing socks so I brought some just in case. You shouldn't wear ice skates without them because they can give you nasty blisters." He looked at her thoughtfully and mentally slapped his forehead. Yesterday's dream had obviously been a warning that he would end up having to wear socks. Why didn't he listen?

It took them ten minutes to pay, hire the ice skates and sit on the benches to put them on. Emily laughed as L reluctantly put on the socks. She soon shut up when he pointed out that putting on footwear while wearing mittens wasn't going to work.  
"They're nice mittens." She protested.

Raito was the first one on the ice and it wasn't too surprising to see that he was pretty good at what he was doing. Emily stood up slowly, wobbling slightly and reached into her bag one more time.  
"You'll freeze like that." She sang and before L would object, she was wrapping a dark blue scarf around his neck. She laughed, ruffled his hair and hurried to join Raito.

He stared after her as she stepped onto the ice and steadied herself against the side. For a few moments he was stunned. How could somebody who could be in an empty room and wearing flat shoes not be able to stay upright but be able to skate perfectly on ice. She was just as good as Raito and it wasn't long before they linked arms and skated around together.

Misa sat next to L, fuming with anger.  
"Raito promised he'd skate with _Misa!_" she hissed, jealousy clouding over her pretty face. She quickly stood up, wobbled and attempted to join them. However it appeared that Misa couldn't ice skate. She helplessly clung to the side and waved an arm desperately at Raito. Matsuda was slowly but surely making his way around the rink.

L watched Misa and thought carefully. Could he be sharing the same feeling with her? Was this _jealousy_? No. He didn't think he was capable of feeling something so spiteful. Still, he wanted to get onto the ice as well. He had never ice skated before yet he had carefully studied some videos and he was confident.

Raito spotted Misa and quickly braked, reaching out for her hand and dragging her across the ice. She let out occasional shrieks every time somebody swooped in front of her. Emily skated over to the edge where L was pausing and wondering how he was going to successfully stay upright.

"It's easy. Come on." She said with a grin and she tugged at his arm and he had no choice but to follow, otherwise he'd probably end up on the floor. They skated along at an average speed in silence. Emily let go of his wrist, slowing down to make sure that he didn't fall over. He put one of his hands in the pockets of his jeans to keep them warm and Emily clung onto his other hand to help guide him along. Emily was amazed that he could remain slouched while ice skating.

"_When I thought that she would be a distraction, I never thought that I would be the one that was distracted."_

"I suppose you'll be working after this then?" Emily said sadly, looking at him and interrupting his thoughts.  
"Of course."  
"You work too hard. I'll help you if you want." She offered, pulling them both around two parents and a little girl.  
"There's no need. You should have time off."  
"You're such a hypocrite" she said, laughing.

"_In more ways than one. Why are you so distracting?" _He thought.

"Ryuuzaki!" Misa cried out from the edge. She was stood with the others. Emily let go of his hand, her mittens brushing against his fingers as she skated away. She realized that they would most probably going to be speaking in Japanese anyway so there was no point in sticking around.

"Hey Ryuuzaki, you know we're friends right?" Misa said with a cheeky smile. Oh god, what was she up to now?" He merely blinked at her and she continued.  
"And you know how friends tell each other everything?" He really didn't like where this was going.

Raito, looked at L carefully, his head tilted to the side slightly. Matsuda looked confused.  
"You have a crush on Echo don't you!" Misa blurted out triumphantly. L simply stared at her, focusing all his energy into not opening his mouth in horror.

"W-What made you think that?" he half stammered, trying to look casual. His hands were still firmly shoved into his pockets but he was stood up straight which was unusual. Although the ice skating rink was cold, his face felt warm.

"He does!" Misa shrieked in what appeared to be delight, clapping her hands and nearly slipping on the ice. Raito smirked at L, almost mocking him with his eyes. No, L was just seeing it as bad. Matsuda looked stunned.  
"Gah! You two are so cute!" she cried, happiness etched on her face as she stumbled across the ice towards Emily.

L stared after her and for a few moments he was terrified that Misa would tell but then he realized Emily couldn't understand Japanese. He would have relaxed but now he felt uncomfortable. Matsuda was still staring at him. Oh why did they have to be cousins?

"Do you really?" Raito asked, mild interest playing across his face. L looked at him, eyes soft and sad and Raito nodded, as if he understood.  
"We won't say anything else about it. Isn't that right Matsuda?"  
"Whuh?"

Emily was surprised to see Misa tripping across the ice towards her but she slowed down and held onto Misa's arm to stop her falling over. Misa suddenly erupted into speech, her cheeks flushed pink and she'd wave her free arm in the air as if she were excited. Emily wished she could understand what she was saying. They skated along slowly.

"I think it's great that you're friends with Ryuuzaki. He's a really nice guy. You know you two would be really cute together. Seriously it was so sweet when you were skating together!" Misa gabbled. Emily looked at her blankly then smiled. She decided that it was best to pretend that she understood.

"Do you like him?" What sounded like a question was asked and Misa stopped ice skating and turned to Emily, eyes wide and waiting for a response. Oh fiddlesticks.  
"Uuuuuh…" Emily settled for a nod. This seemed to thrill Misa.  
"Really?! Oh wow!"

However while Misa was talking at what must have been four hundred words a minute, she wasn't paying attention. When you're surrounded by people on a large sheet of ice and you're not paying attention, it's inevitable that you're going to fall. Misa slipped and Emily, as she tried to keep Misa upright was dragged to the ground.

_Thunk!_

Her head hit the cold, frozen water and then it all went black…

It seemed that wherever Emily went, she would always be a distraction.

* * *

A/N: Oh I suck so bad at writing when I have writers block. D: Thanks to Danicasdeath, ActionFry, The Blonde One and AnimelovinKiDD for reviewing. My reviewers are my eyes. I'm blind without you.


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: I'm not clever enough to own Death Note.

A/N: Well I threw the pineapple at writers block and this time it worked ActionFry! Haha it's still not great but I found it easier to write this time.

* * *

Accidents Happen

Misa stood for a few seconds just staring.  
"Echo?" she said, beginning to panic when Emily didn't move. "Raito!" she called, though there was no need to. L and Raito had skated quickly over when they spotted that something was wrong. Matsuda followed slowly behind.

"Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry!" Emily could hear them all. Could she respond? No. All she saw was black and she was dizzy. The ice beneath her was freezing her skin and making her numb. She wished she could understand what Misa was wailing and what Raito was muttering.  
"Misa, she doesn't speak Japanese."  
"B-but she was listening to me and… How do I say it in English?!" Raito rolled his eyes and muttered some words.  
"It was an accident, I'm sorry!" Misa said, uncertainly in English. Emily understood what somebody was saying! Finally.

"It was an accident! I'm sorry!" Misa repeated, saying it over and over again, her voice desperate. Gentle arms lifted Emily off the ground, bridal style. She had a feeling that people were staring and she wished that she could move. All she could hear was the sound of Misa's high pitched voice, choking back tears as she repeated the same phrase; echoing it at Emily.

"It was an accident!"

Accident… Emily had heard this phrase said many a times. Only those times, it was all lies. Misa was telling the truth. She could tell. Slowly, as the word accident rested in her head and twisted around her mind, she lost the ability to hear.

---

"_How did Emily get that black eye? The twins haven't been ganging up on her have they?"  
"No. It was an accident. She walked into the table."  
_

---

"_So you're telling me that she broke her arm while falling down the stairs?"  
"It was an accident. Emily has always been clumsy."  
_

---

"_Stay away from me."  
"Be careful. Nasty accidents happen to those who don't watch the ground that they walk on."_

---

_  
"Oh dear Emily. All these accidents just keep happening. Wouldn't it be terrible if something else happened? I guess you better do what we say so you don't make a mistake and get hurt."_

"_Oops!"  
_

_---_

"Are you sure you don't want me to help you, Ryuuzaki?" Raito said; trying to hide a smirk as L carried Emily across the ice and towards the locker rooms, looking for first aid. Somehow, he managed to maintain his slouched position.  
"I'm stronger than I look, Raito. I'm sure that out of everybody here, you know that best." L replied calmly. Where an earth was the stupid first aid? Raito was looking at L and gently rubbing his face.  
"Yes… It still hurts to think about it…" Raito muttered, wondering whether he should begin training in martial arts.

L gave in looking for first aid and lowered Emily down to the locker room floor, half cradling her in his arms. He was sat down cross legged. Why an earth did this girl force him to do things he hadn't done in years? She was laid across his lap with her head resting against his arm, her legs resting on the ground, ice skates still on her feet.

"Where an earth is all the muscle anyway?" Raito asked with a smirk as L checked Emily's pulse.  
"Under his shirt?" Misa suggested, worry still showing on her face as she glanced at Emily. Raito raised an eyebrow.  
"Oh because you've seen him without it on of course." She said rolling her eyes and trying not to splutter with laughter.  
"I think you're forgetting that I used to have to be with this guy twenty four hours a day and seven days a week."  
"Can we _please _stop talking about all this crap and look after my cousin?" Matsuda snapped.

They all turned to L to see him holding Emily close to him and looking up at the ceiling. His fingers twisted through her hair. She could have just been asleep. He sighed and then looked back at them.  
"The chances of her being able to hear us are very high. Rather than arguing, it may be better to actually speak to her. Raito, you're fluent in English, come and speak to her with me."  
"Hey… I can speak English too!" Matsuda said wistfully.

At first as Emily's hearing came back, it sounded like everything was being said through water. She could make out a few words but then she realized it was all in Japanese. Somebody was holding her. Matsuda? Raito? Misa?  
"Echo? Echo can you hear us?" Raito's voice was becoming clearer now. Ah so that must be who was holding her. The main suspect. Could it be possible that Kira was keeping her safe? She should respond. But could she? It felt like she was flying. It was so comfortable in her own little world.

But then she felt something different. Soft hair brushed against her cheek and somebody's breath tickled her ear as somebody whispered her name.  
"Emily?"

Emily forced herself to respond now. Her eyes flickered open and she clenched her fist as everything swayed into view. It wasn't Raito who was holding her, it was L. She gasped and tried to take in everybody's faces. They were all crouched beside her looking at her in concern. How did she get here? They were all still wearing ice skates, so it mustn't have been too long since she had passed out. She forced a faint smile and tried to speak.  
"D-Did you know that over seventy percent of accidents happen in the home?" she said.

Everybody but Misa looked at her for a few moments, stunned. Misa looked confused and wished she knew English. Matsuda furrowed his brow and tried to translate it, positive that he had gotten it wrong.  
"But you're not at home." Raito said gently, half reaching out a hand, trying to decide whether he should comfort her or not.

"I know." She said, shaking and without warning she burst into tears and sobbed, burying her face into L's shirt. He sat still, confused and surprised as she clenched her fists and ended up taking a firm hold of his shirt. He wrapped his arms around her and rested his head on hers, trying to work out what to do.

Misa suddenly snapped into action.  
"How about we go return the skates?" Matsuda and Raito paused for a moment and nodded. They all left L and Emily alone.

"Are you ok?" He asked as she continued to cry. He couldn't work out whether it was a stupid question or not. "Are you hurt anywhere?" he added, deciding that this would probably be more helpful. She shook her head and continued to cry.  
"Then what's the matter?"  
"N-Nothing. It's just… Memory lane." She whispered. He nodded and resisted the urge to kiss her on the top of the head.  
"I understand." He said quietly.

For five minutes, they sat on the cold floor. Emily's shudders slowly weakened and her sobs turned into whimpers. L wanted to ask her what was hurting her so much but he felt that it was none of his business. In her eyes, they were just friends. She didn't care for him in that way.

L was beginning to want to leave by then. He hadn't cried in years but Emily's sudden emotional state didn't help him at all and the others must be wondering where they were. He refused to cry in front of anybody. Also, sitting with crossed legs was painful to him after so many years and the socks were driving him crazy.

"Are you sure you're not hurt?" he asked when was wiping her eyes and apologizing for soaking his shirt in salty water.  
"I'm fine she muttered. Carefully they stood up and he supported her so that she wouldn't trip over her skates.

Dizziness swept through her as she tripped along in the ice skates on the rubber floor. She felt overwhelmed as they traded the skates back for their own shoes.  
_"Thank god I can take off these socks."_

September air blew past them as they stepped outside and made their way to the car park. Emily rubbed at her eyes and kept her face pointed towards the ground. She knew that her cheeks would be pink and blotchy after crying so much. Matsuda was stood by his car. Raito and Misa had already left.

"Ryuuzaki, do you want a lift back?" Matsuda asked as he opened the back door for Emily.  
"Thank you." L said gratefully, and sat down next to Emily.

The car journey was awkward. L sat in silence, apparently oblivious to that fact that Matsuda was watching him carefully through the rear view mirror for most of the journey back and very nearly crashed the car a grand total of four times. L noticed that he was being watched so he tried to ignore it. Argh! Why did he agree to go ice skating?

Matsuda stopped the car to let them out when they got to outside the headquarters. He watched them carefully as he drove around the back of the building to park the car.

"What's his problem?" Emily asked, sniffing and wiping her eyes one last time as they entered the building.  
"No idea." L lied, keeping his eyes on the floor as he walked her up to her apartment.

She stopped walking and looked at him with a hurt expression. He turned back and looked back at her. It was best not to say anything. She swallowed and brushed her tangled hair out of her eyes. It was falling out of the bunches and her hat was lopsided. It was cute in a unique sort of way.  
"You know." She said simply then she continued walking.  
"He's worried about you." L said glumly, deciding that if she could tell when he was lying, maybe she can't tell if somebody only tells part of the truth.  
"Oh." Emily said quietly. She didn't bother pursuing it. She had a feeling that L wouldn't tell her the full story.

She stopped to unlock the door and he watched her fumbling with the key. He sighed. After all of this, he would never be able to work again. Distractions. Distractions. Distractions. She opened the door and turned to him. For a few moments they stood in awkward silence.  
"Want to come in?" She offered weakly.

* * *

A/N: "No, I fear this chapter has gotten far too long!" L said.

Haha! Sorry it's so long! Danicasdeath, I tried it but I'm trying so hard (and failing so badly) to keep L in character. I'm not too good with that seeing as L wasn't really the type to fall in love. D: So yeah the 'freak out' was pathetic and Emily is oblivious. :P Sorry! Thank you very much The Blonde One but take a look at one of ActionFry's stories and see what good writing really is. xD Tis wonderful stuff.

Thanks to Danicasdeath, The Blonde One, ActionFry, XthirteenX, watergoddesskasey and Sybil Corvax for reviewing. I guess what I said about the eyes really encouraged people to review. xD Haha tis all true. Bad feedback is just as welcome as good feedback as well so don't be afraid to tell me what needs to be done!

Sorry it wasn't so funny!


	11. Chapter 11

Disclaimer: I don't own Death Note, though it's all so out of character here, you probably can't tell that this is Death Note...

A/N: YES YES YES. I AM SORRY FOR OUT OF CHARACTER...NESS... And ActionFry, haha, how did that comment on your stories get there? Heh. I don't even know what I'm typing half of the time. They are very good though. :P I love beautiful stories.

* * *

Accidents Happen

"Want to come in?" Emily offered weakly.

Two turnouts. If he said yes, he'd be invited in. If he said no, he'd go back to work. L wasn't used to being torn between two choices. He chewed on his thumb, thinking it over.

Two things were speaking to him. His conscience and his heart. However, he had no idea which was which and whether it was his heart or his conscience that told him that he should stay with Emily after she'd used him as a giant tissue. Whether it was his heart or his conscience, it was screaming at him to stay.

However the other thing, was telling him he needed to work. He needed to bring justice and catch Kira. He was passionate about his work so it could very well be his heart but it was equally likely that it was his conscience. It wasn't morally right to abandon his work to spend time with his colleague's cousin when obviously the colleague was uncomfortable with it.

"I have a lot of work to do." He swallowed and said calmly. Emily looked at him faintly and shook her head.  
"Aren't you tired after everything today?" She asked. He hated to admit it but he was. He was always tired but he hadn't had time for a cup of coffee today.

She was clutching on to the doorframe, looking overwhelmed.

"You really should go to hospital." L muttered, secretly panicking. Perhaps it was his conscience telling him that he couldn't leave a friend behind when she was close to passing out or maybe it was his heart that told him that Emily needed him. Whichever it was, it didn't make much of a difference because as he she stared past him and nearly fell over, he grabbed her wrist and dragged her into her own apartment.

He pulled her over to the sofa and sat her down, she tugged at his arm and forced him onto the sofa next to her and once again he found himself sitting normally on a chair. He didn't want to get his scruffy trainers on her tidy sofa. She let go of his wrist and closed her eyes, sighing sadly.

L watched her for a few moments, her delicate eye lids were closed and she was breathing steadily. Had she passed out again?  
"Coffee?" she asked suddenly, her eyes snapping open and a forced smile on her face.  
"No thank you." L said, although he would have sold the cake that was waiting in his fridge for some coffee at that point.

He didn't want to force her to stand up. She looked so pale, it was as if she'd dissolve and blow away in the wind. Not that there was any wind in the room.  
"Are you forgetting that I can tell when you're lying?" she said with a smile. This one was warmer and less painful. A real smile. He smiled back at her.

Emily couldn't help smiling more. One of L's rare smiles, just for her. She could accept being just his friend if he let her see that smile every now and then. It was one of the nicest things about L. It was proof that he was just as human as she was.

She unzipped her coat and took off her hat and mittens, putting them neatly on the coffee table and was about to stand up when L spoke again, catching her attention.

L had decided that the best way to stop her from standing up was to distract her.  
"How do you know when somebody is lying?" He asked curiously, one of his hands firmly, yet gently on her shoulder to prevent her from getting up.

Emily froze where she was and wondered how to answer the question. L's dark, eyes were watching her carefully, the dark shadows beneath them framing them in an eerie yet somehow beautiful way.

"I don't know _how_ I do it really. I just _know_." She said after thinking it over for a few seconds. Disappointment clearly showed on his face as he nibbled his fingernail.

"I know why I can do it though." She said quickly and L noticed sudden fear in her tone.

"I have two brothers who are twins; they're four years older than me." She said unsteadily, staring at her mittens and hat on the table. L silently nodded to show he understood.  
"For some reason, they've always hated me. When mum and dad turned their backs they would hit me and kick me. If my parents ever asked, they'd lie. They'd always say they were accidents." Emily said quietly. She was almost whispering and her breath came out in rattling sighs that shook through her and made her shudder uncontrollably.

"Sometimes they would bluff. If I couldn't work it out, I'd suffer. Humans adapt to withstand scorching hot and freezing cold temperatures. If they didn't, they wouldn't survive. I needed to adapt to survive. Anybody could do it if they tried." Tears shimmered in her brown eyes and made them seem even more captivating than usual in a sad way. L froze, staring into her eyes and wondering what she saw through them. Did she see the world the same way as he did? Wonderful yet tragic? Dangerous yet beautiful?

"I would never go through all of this if I had the choice. It's not right to force somebody to adapt with violence." She blinked and a tear slowly trickled down her cheek and into her lap. How could she have the energy to cry after earlier? Was this what was hurting her? _Accidents?_

"Two years ago, they were imprisoned for manslaughter. Not a single part of me doubts that it was _murder_." Emily was visibly shaking now. Every time she inhaled, it reminded him of wet paper and he was terrified that she may just tear and break right in front of him. L wished he could react but all that he was capable of doing at that point was just staring at her and biting his finger, his eyes full of horror and sadness.

"But then, two months ago, they both died of heart attacks." Emily spluttered and now the real tears came. L removed his finger from his mouth and wrapped his arms around her. It was natural for him to do so. He felt like they were both made to comfort one another and share their pasts. It hurt him to see her upset. His own memories escaped from where they were buried years ago and the bells rang in his ears, louder than ever. She buried her head into his shoulder and he was thankful for that. If he cried, she wouldn't see.

"Nobody has ever been told the full story before. I was scared that they wouldn't understand. If they had known that they had hurt me, they wouldn't understand why I was still sad about their deaths. No matter what they did, they were still my family." She half whimpered into his ear and he pulled her closer. He understood. He understood and it _hurt _him. The truth was _painful_.

"Sssssh." The comforting noise left his mouth without him being consciously aware of it. It was as if somebody else was whispering to both of them. He wanted her to stop crying. He wanted her pain to end. The agonizing pain was sweeping through the room and stinging everybody with its crushing grasp. L was fighting against his own tears now. He could feel the warm water in his eyes and it took a lot of mental strength to attempt to push memories back and to try and silence the bells.

Emily was breathing heavily and L realized that she had cried herself to sleep while he held her in his arms. Her arms were around his waist; holding him close to her. Just knowing that she cared enough to return the hug was enough to calm him down and slowly, the bells died away. A single tear trailed down his face and he blinked, surprised that he was still capable of crying after all these years. L closed his eyes, nestling in Emily's hair and breathing in the delicious smell as he lulled himself to sleep.

It was twenty past five when L woke up. That was what the clock on the wall said any way. This meant that he had been asleep for approximately four hours and five minutes. He felt both heavy and light at the same time. It was like he had been in a deep, flying dream for a long time. Perhaps he had been. He couldn't remember. All he could hear was Emily's steady breathing as she rested her head against his chest and the echoing of the bells.

He felt numb. His skin was tingling and for a few foolish moments, he pondered over the possibility that the pain had seared right through him and he had died in Emily's arms. L was used to sleeping while being sat up but to sleep while sitting in a position he wasn't accustomed to was painful. He felt stiff and for a few minutes he just laid there listening to the soft, snuffling breaths that Emily was taking. She was still asleep. If this was death, he didn't mind it. He wished that he had died long ago.

Delicately, he slid his arms out from around her and moved hers so he was free to stand up. He tottered to his feet and stretched. It was a relief to stand up. He couldn't wait to have some coffee and a slice of cake. He looked down at Emily, innocently sleeping. Had he really just slept in her arms? The thought sent butterflies fluttering through him. He was alive. He was sure of that.

As much as he wanted coffee, he didn't want to leave her behind. He gingerly picked up a cushion from the sofa and put it behind her head. She stirred slightly then continued to breathe deeply. It reminded him of a story that his mother had read to him long ago. Sleeping Beauty? People didn't really seem to understand her beauty like he did. Perhaps everybody else was seeing the clumsy shell and not the graceful swan behind it.

L bent down so he was at her level and he brushed a strand of hair away from her face. Pausing for a second, he wondered whether he should proceed or not. He frowned as he tried to work out what to do but he decided to ignore his conscience. Yes it was definitely his heart that told him to stay loyal and not be afraid to express how he felt to her. For five seconds, he didn't care for anybody else would think if they ever found out and he gently pressed his lips against hers, kissing her tenderly.  
"Good night." He whispered in her ear.

As he closed the door to her apartment with an almost inaudible click and shoved his hands into his pockets, a thought sat in his mind.  
_"Maybe Misa is right. Maybe I am just a pervert…" _He thought sadly, the taste of his first kiss, still lingering on his lips.

* * *

A/N: Haha that sucked so badly. xD I'm no good at writing. Hopefully I'll get better with practice. Thanks to *deep breath* Sybil Corvax, Danicasdeath, angelicnw2005, AnimelovingKiDD and of course, ActionFry for reviewing. You guys are amazing. :D It's so useful to hear what you think. If you ever have anything negative to say, be free to say it, feedback is feedback and it's the best way to know how to improve my work.


	12. Chapter 12

Disclaimer: If I owned Death Note, I'd probably be capable of writing better fanfiction as well.

A/N: Thank you very much for the reviews guys. I understand that L is OOC but really, he's incredibly hard to work with. I'm going to give you all a really lame excuse and say "PEOPLE ACT DIFFERENT WHEN IN LOVE!" Yes. Yes that's my excuse. Sorry this chapter wasn't worth the wait. I'm pretty sure the quality decreases as you read on. Writers block is immune to the pineapple now.

* * *

Origami

It wasn't until the end of October, Halloween to be precise, that Emily realized that her feelings had long since passed the crush boundary and the emotion that flowed through her veins now, had to be love.

As she made her way to work and mused over that thought, she smiled. It was good to have somebody understanding nearby. She frowned as she went through security checks and her mind settled on something that had been worrying her for a while now. Sometimes, Matsuda and Raito would act strangely and every time she asked, she heard lies. However she never demanded the truth. Just because she knew they were hiding something, it didn't mean she had the right to know.

"Good morning." The monotonous voice that always greeted her was the first thing she heard as the elevator doors parted. L was sat as usual at the desk, holding a cup of coffee in one hand and delicately sipping it and holding the Death Note gingerly with his thumb and forefinger with the other.

Emily sighed and sat next to L as she always did. Any excuse to look at him and not cause any suspicion would be taken as an opportunity. She smiled in amusement and he placed the coffee cup down and leafed through the note book.

"You've studied it so much. Surely there can't be anything left to discover." She said, gently taking the book out of his hands and putting it down on the desk. He looked at her and his eyes were wide and curious. He blinked suddenly and she quickly turned away so that she wouldn't end up staring at him again.

He turned to the Death Note and picked it back up, turning to the back and reading through the instructions, though he knew them all off by heart.  
"I believe that testing the notebook will unlock several vital clues to this case." He muttered quietly and Emily looked up at him in surprise.

He wanted to kill somebody with the notebook? But surely that would be inhumane?! And wouldn't that mean that he would have to keep on killing otherwise he would die in thirteen days? Emily tried to stay as calm as possible.  
"Ryuuzaki, you're not suggesting that you're going to _kill_ somebody?" She said breathlessly.

He absentmindedly picked a chocolate from the box that sat next to him which Emily hadn't noticed before and chewed thoughtfully.  
"I intend to send the notebook off to be used at a proper execution. Somebody who is scheduled for execution in thirteen days will write the name of somebody who is scheduled to be executed on that day. If the executioner is still alive thirteen days later, they will be allowed to live."

Emily stared at him for a few moments as he drank his coffee. The people involved were going to die anyway. So was it all that different? She wished that there was something she could do to prevent the use of the notebook but she saw L's point. He was right. The only thing they could do at the moment was test the Death Note.

For several moments, they were quiet. Emily was tracing small circles on the desk with her nails and L watched her thoughtfully.

"How old are you?" he asked suddenly. She looked up at him in slight surprise. She would never get used to the random statements or questions he asked. It didn't seem to occur to him that it was considered impolite to ask a lady her age.  
"Twenty-four. I'll be twenty-five in April."

He appeared to be deep in thought as she spoke. His eyes were distant and he didn't move.  
"How old are you?" she asked back. For a brief moment, something flickered across L's face before disappearing and his blank stare returned. He continued staring at the desk. It was almost as if the shadow or the hint of something had shown through then. Was he taken aback by her question?

"Twenty-five." Even as he spoke now, no emotion showed in his eyes. Emily resisted the urge to poke him just so that she could see his eyes staring at her questionably.  
"When's your birthday?" she asked in an attempt to get him talking. She knew it was no use. When he was thinking, he would refuse to be distracted.  
"Today." His voice broke through the short silence like the wind rustling through grass and she looked up at him in dismay.

His eyes slid sideways as he watched her with no expression. Oh please no! She looked close to tears. What an earth was wrong now? Why couldn't he ever understand this woman?  
"You didn't tell me. I would have bought you a present!" she said miserably, her hair forming a curtain around her face as she looked down.

L relaxed a little. So that was all? He stood up and nervously put an arm around her shoulders.  
"If you're happy then that will do." He said quietly, looking her in the eyes. She looked up slightly and her hair fell back to reveal a watery smile.

"Good morning Ryuuzaki, Echo!" Matsuda said in an unnaturally loud voice as he stepped into the room. L straightened slightly and looked at him in curiosity. Emily unsuccessfully hid a giggle behind her hand as Matsuda looked suspiciously at L.

"I'm going out for some fresh air. I'll be back in five minutes." Emily choked, stumbling towards the door. She found her cousin's odd behaviour amusing.

L watched her leave, his eyes following her and his head unmoving.  
"What were you doing?" hissed Matsuda as soon as Emily was out of earshot. L look at him blankly.  
"I wasn't doing anything."  
"I'm warning you! I am a black belt at origami and I'm not afraid to paper cut you to death!"  
"Perhaps another time. We have a lot of work to do." L said calmly, well aware that Matsuda's origami skills would be no match against his capoeria.

* * *

A/N: I promise that next chapter will be better and something interesting will happen and stuff. For all of those who are still reading despite the poor quality these past few chapters, you're all amazing. Thank you to ActionFry, AnimelovinKiDD, watergoddesskasey, angelicnw2005, Sybil Corvax and Danicasdeath for reviewing. I love the reviews because not only do they help me write, they also tell me who is reading this the whole way through. :) I know that some people are reading therefore I have a reason to write. Thank you very very very much.


	13. Chapter 13

Disclaimer: If I did own Death Note, I'd probably be successful and stuffs by now and wouldn't be on fanfiction. I don't own it.

A/N: Sorry about the long wait guys. I got writers block again so I guess this isn't the greatest quality. Is this worth the wait? I don't know. I hope Danicasdeath had a brilliant birthday last thursday. xD Haha and everybodies beloved Matt who's birthday was on Sunday. Yes. Let us be sad enough to celebrate a fictional characters birthday! :D

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Rain

November rain cascaded down the headquarter's windows and clung to the glass, collecting in small puddles of raindrops and plummeting to the ground far below when they got too heavy. Emily breathed against the glass of the window and watched the steam cloud the surface.

It was her break and everybody was sipping on tea and chatting softly in Japanese. Thunder rumbled outside and occasionally, there was a flash of lightening. She had planned on telling L of her feelings today. It was hard to keep them bottled up inside. She decided that L would never treat her any differently when she told him. He would continue being her friend.

But something was wrong today. The mood in the room didn't seem right. She drew a star into the steam on the glass and then with one swift motion with her sleeve, it had flown away forever.

She was vaguely aware of somebody else being nearby and was startled to see that L was stood next to her, watching the rain mist and swirl towards the pavement. How long had he been there? It had been five days since his birthday.  
"Is that a paper cut?" she asked, her eyes trained on his finger. L examined the small cut on his hand and smiled at her, although it never reached his eyes.  
"Your cousin is indeed, a black belt in origami." He said dully, the ghost of a smile still etched on the corners of his mouth but his eyes dark and lifeless. She decided that it was best not to question what an earth he had just said.  
"What's wrong?" she asked, realizing that normally, he would be looking at the Death Note or trying to work something out.

L turned to look into her eyes and thought carefully. If he were to survive today, he would tell her. But if he didn't… She would never know. Emily was a bright girl. Slowly, he reached out and held her onto her hand, pulling her closer to his side. Her eyes were looking at him in wonder now.

As he pulled her to his side and towards him, she tripped over her own feet and he quickly caught her. He'd done this countless times since they had been ice skating because if nobody caught her, he was scared that she may shatter. Instead of steadying her and letting go, this time he just held onto her and rested his head against her hair. (Pfft cliché but typically Emily no?)

"I will tell you later." He said quietly, brushing his lips against her forehead and kissing her gently. Frozen and stunned, she seemed unable to move. He let go of her and walked away, ignoring the questioning eyes that burned into the back of his head. If he died today, surely that would be enough for Emily to realise that he liked her more than a friend. Even if she didn't work it out, he was certain that at some point, his cousin or Raito who she seemed to get along with would tell her.

Raito. Kira. Could they be the same person? The only thing that really seemed to stand in the way of his theory was the thirteen day rule. Was it possible that Raito had killed somebody every thirteen days? No. That was ridiculous. He had been observed twenty four hours a day and seven days a week. L frowned and made his way to the roof of the building. He had too much on his mind.

When the morning break was over, Emily was still as overwhelmed as she had been when L had walked away. She barely took in what anybody was saying, though she couldn't understand anyway. Usually she listened and tried to assess the situation from other people's reactions.

She was aware of raised voices and she forced herself to concentrate on the present. L was sat calmly, eating the last few moutfuls of his cake and speaking in a gentle tone. It seemed that he had just let them know about his plans to use the Death Note in a proper execution.

Emily wished she could put her point across but she knew that it would be useless if she tried. Raito stood next to her in silence, deep in thought. L's words sounded stern and they cut through the air.

Suddenly, a repetitive beeping noise forced everybody to look up into blinding white as all the screens flashed 'All data deletion'. For a split second she saw Watari on a screen before it was cut off by the white screen. Heart attack. The loyal servant had fallen. L's voice cried out Watari's name and behind his tone, Emily noticed a slight pain that she had never seen in L before. His eyes were dead for a few moments as the dull, continuous tone of the computers numbed his brain and things settled into place.

Emily wanted to comfort him as he spoke calmly in Japanese. Pain still showed in his eyes as he clutched onto the spoon in his hand as if it were a sword. Then, a word that Emily recognized was said. Shinigami. Panic clung to the air and made Emily want to scream out and beg for somebody to tell her what was going on.

Protecting the lives of everybody in the room appeared to be his priority as he spoke quickly. Emily felt a calming hand on her shoulder and wasn't surprised to see it was attached to Raito's arm. In fact, it would probably be very worrying if it wasn't attached.

Emily's eyes were fixed on L, who for some reason had stopped speaking in his raised voice. He appeared to leaning to the side slightly, tipping more and more towards the ground as the nanoseconds flitted by. The spoon that he had been holding onto so carefully no more than twenty seconds ago was clattering to the floor.  
"Oh no… Please no…" She thought. L had amazing balance. It was extremely rare for him to fall over.

She felt like once again like she was submerged into water. She couldn't breathe and all she could do was watch along with Raito beside her, eyes wide and her brain numb and blank.

Crash.

The chair L had been sitting on was sent spinning to the side as Raito dived to the floor and caught L. Something gave Emily the energy to stumble towards his side. She could hear the sounds of the other members of the team calling out yet she didn't register what was going on.

Bells clanged loudly and L's eyes were wide as memories flooded back to him; some from his childhood and others from the past couple of weeks. He was vaguely aware of Raito's arms propping him up and Emily clutching on to his arm as if trying to pull him back to Earth. Her heavy breathing could be heard and her hand laced through his and squeezed his fingers reassuringly.

Emily knew in her heart what was happening and it was tearing right through her. L stared ahead at nothing in particular with wide obsidian eyes, his rapid heartbeats fading away as Raito smirked down at him.  
"You are Kira…" He thought sadly as he felt weak and found that he could no longer squeeze Emily's hand back and promise her that he was still alive. His eye lids slowly slid closed to hide glass eyes that would never stare curiously at anybody ever again.

"I wish I had had the time to tell her." L thought as his heart stopped beating for the only woman he had ever loved. (Cliché again?)

Within a few seconds, Emily had lost L. She gasped for air as she pushed Raito aside gently and embraced L. Her head rested against his chest and she strained to hear the heartbeat she had heard many a time. Sobs shook through her as she realized she couldn't hear it. L was gone.

And she never got to tell him.

* * *

A/N: Very cliché don't you think? Heh, I tried. xD I've become very attached to Emily so it actually hurt me to do that to her. I promise you guys that this isn't the end.

Thank you very much to ItsukoLawliet, Sybil Corvax, Danicasdeath, Actionfry and Jillian Jiggs for the reviews. If it wasn't for you guys, I probably would have abandoned this by now. D: Thank you very much for your support.

I promise I won't delay the next chapter so much. xD Haha, maybe I'll put up one of the terrible fanfics I wrote in the middle of the night out of pure "ARGH I CAN'T SLEEP"iness. I doubt it's worth it though.


	14. Chapter 14

Disclaimer: I don't own Death Note. Hehe neither do I own Grease. (Don't ask, just read)

A/N: This one is extra long to say sorry for the big wait! You guys have been very patient. Grease... Hehe... Well that was especially for Danicasdeath as a... really late birthday present? xP I know it's not exactly what you asked for but it's as close as you'll get. (Mwhahaha)

* * *

Memories

_  
She can not speak; she can only cry._

_Wasted time that will only ever be seen again in memories and dreams full of regret._

_Justice is dead._

It had been two days since the incident and Emily was sat on her sofa staring blankly down at the floor and remembering the time they had fallen asleep. She was unaware of the tears that constantly fell. In front of her stood Matsuda who was desperately trying to get his cousin to stand up and eat something for the first time since L's death.

---

_She could hear the rest of the task force shouting out and scurrying around. Beside her she heard Raito crying out. Although she couldn't understand what he said, she knew that everything he was saying was a complete lie. An act. Perhaps there was some truth behind it but she could hear in his tone that his true intentions were very different to what was shown on the surface._

_She could not see the people around her. All she could see was her tears and pain. She could smell the sweet scent of coffee and pastry which had always belonged to L. It was part of him and she was terrified that it would fade with his body heat. All signs of life were draining away. L was dead. _

_She buried her face in his hair and desperately wished she could turn back time. Something brushed against her and she sensed somebody next to her. Many eyes were boring into her back now as she held L close to her and openly cried._

"_He loved you too." Matsuda whispered sadly._---

A sigh shuddered through her and shredded her insides as it left her body as a choked whimper. Red hot pain seared in her chest, her stomach and her head as she hid her face in her arms and tried to escape the memory.

Why was it called heartache when everything hurt?

Matsuda gently pulled her arm out from under her and dragged her to her feet. He kept a firm grip on her arms so that she wouldn't collapse into a boneless heap on the floor.  
"You're alive Emily." He said desperately, trying to reach the soul inside of the shivering shell in front of him.

Her face was as red as one of Ryuk's apples after crying for so long and the moisture of her tears clung to the skin. More salt water dripped and fell, sometimes being caught by her soaked eyelashes and sometimes adding to the ocean collecting on her face. Every deep breath that she took sounded like a cry for help as her wide blotchy eyes struggled to focus on her cousin.

Her watery brown eyes were cauldrons of despair and if you looked into them, you could feel a jab of pain inside of you. Although it was obvious that that pain would only be a small fraction of what Emily was experiencing now. Her tangled hair hung limply over her shoulders and just making eye contact with her made you feel like you'd just kicked a puppy down twelve flights of stairs.

Matsuda slowly removed his hands from her sides and allowed her to stand up by herself. She swayed slightly as each gasp of air circulated and left her.  
"You have to eat." He said kindly yet sternly. His aunt would never forgive him if he just let her whither away in her apartment.

After making sure that she was stood firmly on the ground he tugged her towards the kitchen by her wrist. One small, unsteady step was taken and she blinked and looked at him distantly. She appeared to be in her own world as she took the first steps since she'd thrown herself to L's side only two days ago.

Her muscles ached and she wished she hadn't moved because even the slightest movement caused her to want to just curl up and give in on everything. Her numb feet brushed against each other and she found herself falling to the ground. Matsuda caught her quickly and supported her weight while she stared up at him with a dead glare.

He stared at her in amazement as she shoved his arm away and let herself fall to the floor. He attempted to scoop her up and put her back on her feet but it was hopeless. For a moment, he remembered how unmotivated L had become about the case at one point and how he didn't feel like doing anything. Perhaps Emily felt the same way.

"Nobody but L can catch me or pick me up." She whispered; her voice thick and sore after not talking and just choking for the past couple of days.

L had always been the one that had supported her.

---

"_So according to Rem, it's only possible to kill somebody by making them explode by writing-" L's words were interrupted as Emily tripped over her feet once again and tumbled to the carpet. It was their break time and they were discussing the Death Note._

L looked down at Emily blankly as she sat on the floor grinning sheepishly and brushing her clothes down, her cheeks flushing bright pink. He blinked in slight amusement and lazily stretched out a hand. She stared at it in awe for a few moments then, realizing what he meant, she allowed him to help her off the ground.

The few seconds that were spent clutching on to each other's hands were bliss.

---

Emily had no idea how long she lay there on the floor, just waiting for L to walk into the room, stare at her for a few minutes and then help her back up to her feet. It seemed that Matsuda had left her there alone. Abandoned her. Or maybe he had faith in her belief that L would help her. The floor beneath her was solid and uncomfortable but she quietly decided that she wouldn't stand up.

Accepting this fact seemed to do her good. She had stopped crying and was breathing more steadily. Her throat burned and her eyes were sore and red. She hadn't noticed it before because all she felt was the pain that was coursing through her soul and damaging everything she lived for.

The prickly stinging in her throat was almost enough to make her want to stand up and find something to drink. Her weary eyes closed and she snuffled into the carpet. She remembered the last time she was thirsty.

---

"_Echo, are you finished with those files? Can you go get us some coffee?" L asked, staring into his empty cup in slight amusement. "Watari is currently preparing lunch." He added, explaining why nobody else had already done the simple task._

Emily, keen to be of use, quickly stood up, knocking the files to the floor. Hastily she bent down and attempted to gather the sheets of paper and the images and paperclips.  
"Sorry!" Her face was the colour of the cherry that L twirled between two fingers as he watched her curiously.

"_She'll probably spill it." Raito said with a raised eyebrow and a grin. He remembered the last time she had helped make the coffee. Emily was nice but she certainly had two left feet. Or perhaps two right feet. It didn't matter._

"_Matsuda's finished. He could do it." Raito suggested, bending down to gracefully scoop up the paper and neatly hand them to the disorganized woman beside him.  
__"Didn't Matsuda set fire to his own trousers last time he made the coffee?"  
"On second thoughts, I'll go make it."_

---

The memory made Emily smile sadly as she drifted off to sleep. If she had had the energy and the tears, she would have cried to think that all of that was all gone and Raito, who had often been both friendly and teasing, was definitely Kira and was the real culprit for L's death. He had seemed so cheerful, amusing and charismatic. Why did L have to be right in his accusations?

The dream that Emily had was a dream that she never forgot. Perhaps due to the absurdity or it or perhaps because she'd do anything to make it happen.

---

_She was back at L's side, a heavy weight dragging her to the floor as tears fell once more. L had just died in front of her all over again. She leaned over him, her hair brushing against his lifeless face and heard music coming from nowhere._

_Oh great. Her dream was a musical._

[Emily]  
No more midnight rides with you  
No more secret rendezvous  
I'm gonna miss all the things we'll never do  
I just can't believe you left me here alone  
How in this world can I make it on my own

_L's eyes opened and she stared back in amazement as he began to sing as well._

[L]  
Remember I love you, I won't be far away  
Baby, close your eyes and think of yesterday  
And we'll be there together

[Both]  
Love will turn back the hands of time  
Whoa oh turn back  
Whoa oh turn back the hands of time

[Emily]  
Whoa oh  
baby don't you know it's hard to let you go

[L]  
Save all your dreams and keep me in your heart

[Emily]  
It hurts to say goodbye no matter how I try

[L]  
Love will survive even though we have to part

_"Emily please don't cry." L said softly, sitting up and looking into her eyes.  
_"_Oh, it all seems so unfair, just when I found you I lost you."  
"That doesn't matter now. The only thing that matters is the time we had together."  
"But I don't even know your name." Emily said sadly. All she knew was his alias.  
"The only thing you have to know is that I love you and you're the only one that can_ keep _our love alive. So Emily, don't forget me."  
"I promise."  
"Remember I love you, you won't be far away"  
_  
[Emily]  
I just close my eyes, and bring back yesterday  
[Both]  
And we'll be there together  
Love will turn back the hands of time  
Whoa oh turn back  
Whoa oh turn back the hands of time  
Whoa oh turn back  
Whoa oh turn back the hands of time

We'll turn back.

_L leaned in and gently kissed her. It was a soft, lazy kiss but it was beautiful and dear to her. Matsuda stared at them with wide eyes. Screaming in his face would probably have the same effect._

---

"Aaaargh!" Emily cried as she woke up from her dream and screamed in Matsuda's face. He stared at her with wide eyes. Singing in a musical next to the dead L would probably have the same effect. The shouting wasn't good for her throat.

Raito and Matsuda were knelt beside her. It seemed that when he had left, he had gone to find help. It seemed that he had chosen Raito because of his capability to speak English.

Without speaking a word, Raito and Matsuda picked her up together and started carrying her towards her room.  
"What?" she said quietly; not attempting to struggle. Every breath she took was a jab into her heart. How could she continue living without L?

They laid her on her own bed and although she felt she was too old for it, she was grateful that they even tucked her in. She didn't have the energy and wasn't in the mood to do it herself.  
"If you're going to sleep, at least sleep in your own bed." Raito said sympathetically as they turned to leave. The way he seemed to actualyl feel sorry for her made Emily wonder how he could be such a heartless killer. Matsuda and Raito made Emily feel like such a child. Matsuda paused and turned slightly as he shut the curtains. Emily had no idea what time it was but outside, it was dark.

"Shoe well." The door behind him clicked shut.  
"Shoe?" Emily said out loud. She curled up and closed her eyes, wishing that she had been put to sleep on her sofa. She remembered when she had last slept on the sofa after ice skating.

---

_Emily knew that something was missing from the room as soon as she woke up. Had they fallen asleep while holding each other? She curiously opened her eyes and realized that she was alone and L had left. Had he fallen asleep and stayed with her for a while or had he waited for her to fall asleep and leave? On the table lay the scarf he had borrowed._

Dry tears were brushed away from her face as she stretched and called out his name.

"_L?" He had definitely left. Perhaps he was embarrassed about the whole situation. She knew that she was. Absentmindedly, she licked her lips and recognized the faint taste of strawberry sorbet. What time was it and when had she last eaten that..?_

---

A/N: Haha, I'm sorry Danicasdeath but I really couldn't have pulled it off without making it very cheesey. The musical is still Grease and not my own work. xP It's kinda funny how it actually suits the story quite well though.

Thank you very very very much to Danicasdeath, angelicnw2005, CaeliaDanan, watergoddesskasey and of course ActionFry for reviewing. It's nice to see that you guys are still reading even after the long wait! :D

This isn't quite the end so I'll be working on updating soon!


	15. Chapter 15

Disclaimer: If I owned Death Note, I would have given L somebody to love. :3

A/N: Well here it is guys. Last chapter. I love you all. Thanks for reading this far if you have. Big thank yous in the authors notes at the end. You guys should read them because without those people, I probably wouldn't have written this much.

* * *

Nostalgia

"Lawnmowers will prevent your tissue boulders."

A gentle voice woke Emily up. Her sore eyes weakly parted and she saw Matsuda kneeling down next to her bed and holding out a glass of water. Water! Her throat felt like the Sahara desert. (You guys have no idea how much strength it took me not to write dessert and come up with some corny L joke xP)

She felt disorientated as she contemplated sitting up and taking the beverage off of her cousin who was looking at her with eager and sympathy. Desperately she fought with herself and tried not to cry as she pushed the quilt away. A wave of dizziness swept over her as she quickly sat up and tears clouded and misted her vision and fell towards the pale sheets she was wrapped up in.

Feebly, she sniffed and shaky hands reached for the glass. Matsuda appeared wary and reluctant to pass the glass to her. As she lifted the water to her chapped lips, some of it sloshed over the edge and soaked the sheets; mingling with the salty tears.

As she gulped down frozen mouthfuls of ice, she gasped in relief as water met fire and the pain in her throat eased slightly. Matsuda handed her a tissue as she returned the glass to him and wiped her eyes.

The light in the room was pale and almost mysterious and the ticking clock on the bedside table told Emily that it was quarter past eight in the morning. She knew that in the evening, it was L's funeral.

She was unsure about whether the empty cavern inside her was her stomach or her soul but she realized that if she didn't eat soon, she would pass out. She felt faint and her hands were balled into fists, clutching to the bed sheets as if she would explode if she let go.

Without realizing it, she slipped out of bed and stood up on her feet. She wasn't fully aware of her surroundings as she walked eerily past Matsuda who was staring at her as if she were a ghost. As she passed the bedroom mirror, she realized that she may as well have been one. Her skin was paler than ever before except for the dark rings beneath her eyes which showed the insomnia that she was suffering from. Absentmindedly, her trembling fingers reached up to brush against the deep purple and she felt as if L was now part of her.

Her hair was tangled and knotted but she wasn't self-conscious about it. So what if she looked like a scarecrow? Bigger problems were on her mind at the moment.

Clumsily, she cluttered into the kitchen, not noticing the furniture around her and nearly knocking over a chair in the process. She had no idea where the energy or the will to move had come from and nor did she care. Matsuda didn't follow her but merely gazed at her in slight astonishment.

Nauseously, she gently swiped at the door to the kitchen and her bare feet made contact with the cold tile. Her eyes widened and focused when she noticed that she wasn't alone.

Leaning against the counter holding a plate of toast out towards her casually was Raito, his hair waving slightly in the breeze coming from the open window. He almost looked like a model as he lazily held the plate. Only Raito could look 'sexy' while standing next to the toaster and holding breakfast food.

Plastered on his face was a look of concern and Emily was certain that it was a complete fake. Why would somebody heartless enough to damage her like this appear to be so caring? In truth, she was mistaken. Raito was very unhappy about how worked up Emily was. He was quite fond of her clumsy antics.

Firmly he steered her towards the small chairs and table in the corner of the room and pressed down gently on her shoulders until her legs gave way and she collapsed into a chair.

She was very awake and alert now, her teeth clenched as Raito's arm remained around her shoulders and the plate of toast was placed in front of her. She still couldn't believe that one of L's few friends had betrayed him and killed him.

Did she even want to eat the toast? For all she knew, it could be poisoned. No. That would be too risky. If Raito were to kill her, he wouldn't want to leave evidence behind.  
_"I refuse to eat evil toast." _She thought stubbornly as Raito held a piece up to her mouth as if she were a small child. She leaned away from him and shrugged his arm away. It wasn't like she wasn't capable of eating the toast without help.

Resting her elbows on the table, she closed her eyes and let the tears fall. Things would never be the same again and she would always feel empty. Out of pure exhaustion and hunger, she ate the toast.

"What is she doing?" Matsuda whispered after finally following her.  
"Well it looks like she's crying into the toast if you ask me."  
"I hate soggy toast…"

---

"I won't cry." A half confident reflection told Emily as she stared at herself in the mirror. Her voice was unsure and shaky. It was quarter past four and she was ready for L's funeral. A black skirt and blouse hung loosely around her and she sighed at how dismal it looked. Why did everything turn out like this?

Raking a brush through her hair was a difficult task and when it was complete she wondered what to do with it.

---

"_I hate my hair. I should get it cut." Emily said crossly as she ran her fingers through it. L, sitting in his usual manner on a nearby chair chewed on his thumb gently.  
"Don't." The single word was quiet and soft. She looked up in slight confusion then shook the thoughts away.  
"Maybe I should put it up in a ponytail again or something."  
"I like it how it is." L's opinion was thrown into the conversation casually, causing Emily to blush and look down, hiding behind the long curtains of hazel._

---

Staring into her own broken eyes through the mirror, Emily decided to leave her hair how it was.

Matsuda and Emily made their way to the funeral by taxi. Neither of them spoke a word and merely sat in grave silence. The driver attempted a feeble conversation but gave in after Matsuda just answered with blunt one word answers.

The sun was setting and the sky was beautiful. Blood and fire red, showing the pain that twisted like a knife inside of Emily ever since she'd lost the one she loved. Light dabs of pink and purple were smudged into the scarlet and gold was sprayed across. If you looked hard enough, you'd spot tiny wisps of pink cotton candy clouds. It was almost as if a phoenix had exploded in the sky. (More explosions?)

Emily was determined to avenge L's death. As they stood through the ceremony, she held a bouquet of flowers close to her. Beside her stood Raito who she was keeping a careful eye on.

She felt sure that today was the day that she could avenge L's death. Hidden well among the flowers was a small recording device. She was certain that Raito would say something when he was alone with L and if she could record it, she could prove that he was Kira.

The crisp evening air pinched at Emily's bare arms as she tried desperately not to cry. If only she could understand what the others were saying. For one horrific moment, she realized that her plan may go all wrong. Raito would surely speak in Japanese to L and then what could she do? She knew that Matsuda was loyal to Raito and wouldn't listen to her. Perhaps Aizawa or Mogi? But they couldn't understand her, so what was the point? No, she had to try.

Raito was speaking now. Spouting filthy lies to the grave of his dead friend. The others walked away, apparently finished saying their last words to L. Emily stood in front of the grave clutching the flowers and glancing at Raito. She had told Matsuda previously that she would walk home because she wanted time to herself. For once he seemed to understand.  
"Shall I leave so that you can talk to him privately?" Raito asked softly, warm eyes gazing at her sadly. Emily refused to make eye contact and continued staring at the grave.  
"It's nice to see that you respect my feeling. Thank you. There's really no need though. I just wanted to say goodbye." Emily spoke loudly and forced herself to meet his gaze. If she didn't seem truthful and he walked away without saying anything, she would fail.

He seemed to accept it with a small nod and he watched her patiently as she kneeled down in front of L's grave.  
"This is for you, L." she said quietly, not caring whether Raito heard or not. She secretly pressed the record button which was still hidden from sight and laid the flowers on his grave. If Raito heard her, he would think she meant the flowers, however, to her and L, it meant she was going to avenge his death.

She stood up and turned to walk away, only pausing to nod at Raito in what she hoped appeared to be respect. She left the graveyard with tears in her eyes. As she passed the intricate iron gate, she ducked behind the wall and peered through the gaps that formed patterns in the wall. She saw the back of Raito but she was beyond earshot.

For a few minutes she just sat on the cold, frozen pavement; feeling the icy stone seep through to her bones and causing her to shiver. Tears rolled down her cheeks and the stinging air made them feel like blades. When she finally tried to wipe the frost from her face, she noticed that Raito was no longer at the grave. She unsteadily climbed to her feet and scurried through the churchyard.

The sky blazed in all its glory and Emily kept her eyes on the heavens as she approached L, hoping that he was up there and guarding her. It was peculiar how the sky looked so warm yet instead it was bitter and tombstone cold.

Cautiously, she peered around to make sure she was alone before bending down and putting her hand among the petals, fingers feeling for the device that could avenge L. Her expression turned to panic as she frantically tried to find it, trying not to destroy the plants. It was gone. Then, she heard a familiar sound coming from behind her and it was truthful and honest yet evil and heartless.

The laugh of a killer. It sounded almost tinned and then she realised it was coming from the recorder as she turned around and stood up to see Raito overshadowing her confidently and holding the recorder. He clicked the stop button and examined her shivering figure and heartbroken eyes.  
"Looking for this?"  
"Huh?" Emily's voice was small and broken as she registered what had just happened. For the second time that week, she felt defeated and lost.  
"You, you killed him!" Emily cried, more tears leaving her eyes.  
"He was aware of the risk." Raito said calmly, his head tilted to the side as he put the recording device in his jacket pocket and reached towards his watch.

Emily stared at him blankly, breathing heavily and trying not to collapse.  
"He was your friend." she forced the words out of her mouth, each one tasting of death and loneliness. Raito looked at her and shook his head.  
"This is justice." he said passionately and with a click of his watch, a tiny compartment opened and she saw a small page of the death note. She had failed and she knew that she would die.  
"I'm sorry." he said, and Emily knew that for once in his life, Raito was telling the truth.

Emily really started to cry then. She had failed L and had broken a promise to him.

---

_"Promise me that you'll stay safe?" L said softly, eyes full of sorrow as he studied her carefully.  
"I promise."_

_---_

"A monster like you could never love in the way that I loved him." Raito looked up, surprised at her words as he stopped writing her name for a moment.  
"You're wrong." he said quietly, a sudden cloud of regret passing his face.  
"_What_?"  
"I loved you too."

A stunned silence crashed around them as Emily stared in disbelief.  
"I regret this but sacrifices must be made." Raito said, his voice trembling slightly as he finished writing her name and the word 'suicide'. It was perfect. Nobody would be surprised if she killed herself. Very upset, but not surprised.

She had forty seconds to live her life before losing her mind to the death note.  
"I have no will to stay, live, go or die." she said sadly, turning to L's grave and kneeling down among the flowers that she had accidentally scattered in her surprise. She gathered them up quickly and rested them neatly against the cold stone then laid her head against the cross.

"I'm sorry I've failed you, L. I really am. I love you." she whispered. Raito, panic surging through him watched her as the time ticked by and she remained where she was.

Then, her eyes went blank and she wiped away the tears. Smiling sadly she turned to Raito and stood up.  
"Farewell." she said in a barely audible voice and she turned and left; no doubt walking towards her own deathbed.

_The End_

* * *

A/N: OK! Yes! First of all, I don't hate Raito. I hope it doesn't come across that way. Also, I like to call him both Raito and Light so for this story I called him Raito but if I ever write another, I may call him Light. xD I'm silly like that.

Some time in the future, I'll be writing a story about L's past. I'll have to wait until I've got this big piece of homework out of the way though!

This story... Wow it was great fun to write. I know it wasn't amazing but the way some of you guys reviewed, gosh you made it sound like it was. :D In my eyes, a good writer can make you feel a certain way using words. Your reviews told me that you guys were feeling the way I wanted to. It's strange how a story starting with laughs and fun ended in tragedy and sadness. :(

Emily as a character... Awh I love her! When I write stories, I become so absorbed with my characters that I usually end up feeling the way they feel so it really really really hurt me to do this to her. xD Emily is just so puppylike in my eyes. Strong in some areas but very much like a young child. I decided to give her my clumsiness because that's quite entertaining and I decided to exaggerate it. When I make a whole new character, I like to give them something close to me so I can help develop them. Apart from that, she's completely original. :)

Thanks to EVERYBODY that has read this and thanks to those who have reviewed. Also thank you to those who added this to their alert list.

Thanks to Hallows07, ItsukoLawliet, angelicnw2005, Sybil Corvax, AnimelovinKiDD, watergoddesskasey, XthirteenX and CaeliaDanan.

Now... TO THE REVIEWERS I'D GIVE MY SOUL TO! :D The reviewers that were the most helpful to me or who were the msot devoted.

ActionFry, oh you're amazing. Reviewed every single chapter. Every. Single. One. Except this one. xD But I'm sure you'll read this at least. It's great that you gave me the feedback. I love you. xD I really do. You've been a great help. and your story is amazing. Thank you!

Danicasdeath, first review was... chapter six I believe. Ever since then you've reviewed often. It was a great encouragement and I loved the Grease part of last chapter which you inspired me to do. :) Thank you very much.

The Blonde One, I don't know if you'll ever read this. You never added my story to your alert list so that means you must have looked and kept checking back. Thank you. I hope you do read this because your reviews at the beginning really made me smile.

Rodrick, you've reviewed once. That's all. But I'm telling you it was a brilliant review. It made me laugh with joy. :D You told me exactly what I wanted to hear. I was happy to know that I'd done just what I wanted to one person at least. xD A guy as well.

Reviews are amazing. They encourage people to continue so next time you read a fanfiction, why don't you hit the review button? (:


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